Aging
Or simply running on empty?
I’ve never been a napper. On rare occasions, I will lie down in the middle of the day, but I could count on one hand the naps I’ve taken in the last year, even though I think a nap is pretty heavenly. I tend to push through even if I’m feeling a bit fatigued, which might explain why I sleep well at night.
Couple the fact I don’t nap with always scheduling far more into any given day than I can reasonably accomplish, and you’ve got a good idea of how busy my days are. I always have leftovers (things I still want to get done) at the end of each day.
I’m not complaining, just describing my typical schedule. I also usually have at least two or three things I’m working on simultaneously. I can’t get through making the bed without noticing something else that needs tending to, and I will leave the bed half made and start another project. Rick calls it my “Oh look! There’s something shiny” syndrome. But I wouldn’t change it; I get a lot done, just not in one effort, so to speak. I will at some point circle back to my half-completed projects and finish them.
In the last few months, my downtime has all but vanished. It’s my doing; I’m simply making too many plans. Life often feels like a smorgasbord, and I’m at a loss to pass much up.
In the last two weeks, though, I’ve depleted my energy, resulting in me falling asleep in the most inopportune of times. I know this isn’t a major crisis; I get that. But it’s important to take a look at my behavior and consider what adjustments I might need to make going forward.
Last week, when our friends from Fresno were up for the weekend, the women gathered to catch up in my living room in the early afternoon (the fellows were out and about). I was sitting on my couch, perhaps the culprit, as the couch is typically where I relax. While the conversation moved from one topic to another, I literally fell asleep twice that I know of. Thankfully I was able to wake myself up, but nonetheless I felt remiss nodding off.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to enjoy a massage. I slept through at least 10-15 minutes of the massage. Hmmm?
And Wednesday night our friends Dave and Jen came over for dinner. They had just returned from a wonderful cruise/vacation in Europe, and we were excited to hear about their adventures and see their photos. Dave is the best at putting together videos of their excursions.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared in large part by Rick and, later in the evening, settled into the living room (same couch, I might add) to watch their video on our tv screen. I saw about the first three minutes of the video and woke up to the last three photos followed by “The End.”
You know you have kind friends when they don’t even call you out for sleeping through their WHOLE video. Rick told me Dave smiled at him as I dozed, an understanding soul. But I felt bad, and this made for three times in one week that I slept through something I had eagerly anticipated.
Of course, I had plenty of energy after Dave and Jen left, enough to clean the entire kitchen to perfection before I headed off to bed to contemplate whether I’m aging (yes, Sue, that’s a fact) or if I’m just running on fumes— likely a combination of both.
Great timing that I am taking my two-week vaca after today; it is definitely in order. I’ve got some pretty exciting experiences headed my way in the next few months, each of our girls getting married, and it’s essential I not sleep through any part of the festivities. I likely will be rethinking my (over)scheduling and also consider a nap every once in a while… what a thought. Perhaps I’ll practice napping on this vacation!
Before I close, please accept my thanks to those who subscribed after my last post, both free as well as paid subscriptions! I am grateful. Also a few people asked about renewing their subscriptions. You will receive a notification from Substack when it’s time to renew.
I’ll be back on Monday, August 7 with the first Monday morning cup of thoughts of year two on Substack.
Sue, if you are falling asleep during our exciting video of our UK adventures then...you were in need of the shut-eye, we understood it and it was totally okay. I know you have many things on you plate right now, and I might suggest if you are feeling a bit fatigued around 1-2 pm, stop and rest for 15 or 20 minutes. I have been doing that for a while now and have energy for the evening. There is no shame in taking a few minutes for yourself. Nighty-Night!
This post made me giggle. I have never been a nap taker either unless I was sick. As I have grown older I occasionally find myself dozing off in the afternoon when I am watching TV, reading a book or looking at my iPad. I usually only sleep about 15 minutes and I always wake up surprised that I actually dozed off. I have even dropped my book a few times. I am a very busy person too but sometimes my 71 year old body needs to regenerate.